Avatar: The Last Airbender
by Avatar KENshinJI
Summary: The story of Aang the Avatar and his friends in their travels, told a little differently. Follows the basic storyline without copying.
1. Book One ::: Chapter One

_**Author's Notes:** I've been looking for this section forever, and I finally found it! I can't believe I missed it this whole time! _

_So, this is my version of The Avatar. It starts out basically at the first episode, except I write it my way. I won't be following the storyline completely, or...at all really, lol, So, enjoy! I'd really appreciate some feedback as well please, thanks!_

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Sokka fumbled aimlessly with the leather strands that held his flimsy tent together. He knotted them over and over, only to have them unravel completely, and have the entire sheet of canvas collapse on his head. Each time it happened, he gave an annoyed sigh, and scrambled out from underneath the tarp to try again. 

Katara watched him with mild interest. Why he refused to sleep in the huts the tribe elders had put up was behind her. Actually, no, it wasn't. It was that thick-headed personality of his that always got him into things like this. Whether it was compiling an army of children, trying to catch enough fish for the whole tribe, or now learn how to survive on his own, he always had some half-baked idea. Sometimes, he really wondered how he ever got the mark of wisdom.

He had been slightly upset when his younger sister got the mark of bravery and not him, albeit his opinion quickly changed when he realized it was the same marking his father had gotten. He was proud of it now, and although sometimes he really proved himself to be up to it, he often showed the common sense of a young child; like now.

Katara rolled her eyes when he became entangled in his tent, and she approached the rolling mass to help him out. "Sokka, stop twisting it around so much," she stated when she reached him. The canvas was immediately still. She could just see his face: she had caught him by surprise, and he didn't want her help. His muffled reply, made her cover her mouth to hold in a laugh.

"I don't need your help Katara." He was barely audible through the thick material, so she used this against him.

"What's that Sokka? Let me untangle you so that I can understand you." She spoke loudly, as if she thought he couldn't here her. His stifled protests continued until she finally had him out in the open.

"Katara," he said now that she could hear him better. "I said I didn't need your help!" He held his hands out in front of him, palms up once he was on his feet. She rolled her eyes and turned away.

"Fine, next time you can stay in your tent. At least you'll be nice and warm, no air can get in there." Her back was to him, and she continued walking, making her way back to the center of the tribe's land. The snow crunched beneath her covered feet, and she smiled at the children that rushed past her towards Sokka. She turned her head slightly to watch them for a moment, but continued walking.

Since her brother was the oldest man in the tribe now, the small children looked up to him. He took this position very seriously, sometimes too seriously. Although she had to admit, he had every right to. She knew how he had looked up to their father. It pained her now, to think of him. She cleared her mind of the night that they all left, and looked straight ahead again, making her way back to her hut.

Her hand absent-mindedly reached towards her neck and she rubbed the necklace that hung there. It was all she had left of her mother. She was still bitter towards the Fire Nation for that incident. Her people had suffered greatly during that attack. She looked upwards towards the heavens and smiled.

"Mother," she said softly. "Someday, I just know the Fire Nation is going to get what's coming to them." She felt better when she talked to her up there. She had made herself believe that her mother could really hear her. In her mind, her mother was smiling down at her now, a note of pride in her familiar, friendly smile. "Watch over Father, so that he may return safely," she added. She just hoped he wasn't up there already. Heaven forbid that he was, but if that ever happened to be the case, she hoped they would find each other again. Her parents loved each other greatly. After Katara's mother's death, her father had grown angry, but not towards his children. He had finally summoned together the tribe's warriors, and before they knew it, they were sailing to war. That was the last her people saw of them, but they all prayed that they'd see them again soon.

She pushed the flap of canvas that served as a door to the side and stepped into the hut, where it was considerably warmer. She neatly folded the furs she slept on into a pile and placed them in the corner. She went to the place she always put her bag, and picked it up, slinging it over her shoulder. She then headed back outside to Sokka's hut, where she grabbed his pack as well. She then proceeded to find her brother again, so that they could do what she planned.

He was surrounded by the younger children, and his expression showed he was exasperated by the actions of the kids. She vaguely heard him shout something about warriors not needing potty breaks, and she laughed to herself. She approached him, and held out his leather pack to him. "Sokka," she said while tossing it to him. "Come on, we're gonna go exploring again."

He caught it, and slung it over his shoulder as his sister had, andstepped around the children carefully. He seemed eager to get away from them for now, and followed Katara to one of their canoes. "Why the need to go now," he questioned.

She shrugged her shoulders as they walked. "I dunno, I just want to." He mimicked her movement and shrugged his own shoulders at her response. He had learned that sometimes you just couldn't question Katara. Her answer probably wouldn't have made sense anyway.

"Well okay." He didn't complain about having to go along though. In fact, he seemed to rather enjoy going out on the icy waters with her. Katara thought it had something to do with the fact that he often got to display some of his "manly strengths."

She helped him heave the large canoe into the water, grabbed two oars, and soon enough, they were out on the water. It was rather refreshing really to be out on the open waters. They continued down the path they usually went down, which offered smooth sailing. The waves weren't too violent, just got a tad bumpy, but that was something every adventure needed.

"Let's go that way." Katara pointed with her gloved hand at the path they never took. They didn't know what was down there, but Katara wanted to check it out.

"What? No way." Sokka answered her in his typical fashion. Very expressive, and he talked to her as if she was crazy. "We don't know what's down there."

"But we know what's down _there_," she said while gesturing to their usual way of travel. "And I want to find out what's this way." She didn't explain further, just stared excitedly at the way she wished to take. Something just told her to go that way...

"If we get killed..." came his grumbling reply. He however, steered their canoe so that they headed in the direction that Katara had pointed in. They usually went to the left of the gigantic glacier, and now they went to the right. Something seemed strange about it though, but he ignored his feelings for now.

Katara's eyes were lit up with excitement, and she paddled faster than Sokka did. He glanced back at her, rolled his eyes, and continued going at his own speed without commenting. He did however, say something when her paddling began to affect the direction the canoe was going.

"Katara, you're turning the canoe," he said mildly irritated.

"Am not, you just can't steer straight."

"What?_ I _can't steer straight?" He then made the mistake of withdrawing his paddle to turn around and raise a finger at Katara as if lecturing her. "I'll have you know, this canoe would be going straight as an arrow, if it weren't for you back there, trying to be Mrs. Adventure."

"Sokka-"

"Let me finish," he said while closing his eyes and holding his head upwards arrogantly.

"But Sokka! Turn around and steer!" She shouted loudly, frantically trying to get it going straight again. Sokka had finally opened his eyes, only for them to grow twice their normal size as he did the same as Katara. Their attempts were too late however, and their canoe was traveling down the narrow ravine sideways. They were stuck between two massive icebergs, and the waters were growing increasingly rough. Both of the paddles suddenly snapped off, and the two were forced to let go of the sticks and hold onto the side of the canoe tightly.

"Oh yeah, nice choice Katara," Sokka shouted over the loud waters. They were getting pretty wet as well.

Katara was squinting to avoid getting water in her eyes, but shouted back at her brother clearly. "Shut up Sokka, now is not the time!"

His next statement was drowned out however, and the two of them spotted a large piece of ice jutting out in the middle of the icy canyon Just slightly ahead of that, there was open water, and several large pieces of ice floated around.

"Oh man," came Sokka's voice. He gripped the side of the canoe even harder now and checked to make sure Katara did the same. Her eyes were wide, and suddenly closed, squeezed shut while she held onto the side tightly.

There was a loud _'crack'_ as soon as the wooden canoe made impact with the frozen water. It began to crack in half, but Katara and Sokka didn't see this. They were suddenly thrown from the canoe and hurled through the air before landing on a medium sized chunk of floating ice. They made their landing with a _'thud'_. Katara and Sokka both looked up to see their canoe in splinters, and Sokka glared at his sister.

"Great, this is wonderful."

"Are you blaming this on me?" She was lying flat on her stomach, as was Sokka, afraid to upset the balance of the ice and tip over.

"Maybe I am. You didn't see me trying to satisfy my needs for adventure and go down a path we've never gone down before."

"You stopped paddling! We could have kept going straight, but no!"

"It was going crooked anyway!"

Katara let out an irritated sound, which was a mix of a scream and a sigh. "I don't want to fight with you about this. It's not going to help us."

Sokka made to answer her with another sarcastic remark, but kept his mouth shut when he too realized it wouldn't get them anywhere. It would help to know though, who really was at fault...

About an hour passed, and they both stared at the open water with bleak looks on their faces.

"We haven't moved," Sokka suddenly ground out slowly, breaking the long silence. "Not an inch."

Katara sighed. It looked like their hopes of drifting towards another more solid piece of ice weren't going to happen. Nor were they going to float back to the shore of their tribe.

"You know, I'm really glad we landed on this magical island of ice," he said again. "Otherwise, we wouldn't have been able to slowly die of boredom and hunger." He rested his chin on his palm now, and occupied himself by flicking miniature snowballs into the water.

"You're terrible," Katara answered. Her gaze returned to the water, her eyes watching the ripples Sokka's snowballs made in the water. "Hey..." She stood up silently, causing the ice to shake slightly. Sokka shot her an evil look for messing up his balance, even for just a moment, but stood up as well. It was surprisingly more steady than they thought.

"Oh, so I've let my muscles cramp up for nothing."

Katara ignored him and focused on the water in front of her. It was her turn to save the day. She held her hands out in front of her, and began making those familiar circular motions. Sokka watched her, not commenting on her "freaky abilities" just yet, but one could tell he didn't look too thrilled. She was still, except for her hands, and she finally opened them to see small waves forming beside their piece of ice. However, it wasn't enough to get them moving, so she concentrated on making the slight waves even bigger. Each time, they did nothing, and she slowly increased their size and power. It seemed the change was gradual, too gradual, and she soon found out why.

Thinking it was safe to do so, she threw a surge of power in there...but nothing happened. The waves stopped completely and Sokka sighed.

"Nice, that was helpful, thanks."

She stared almost sadly at the place where her waves had been, the water being completely still. What had caused that? She hadn't stopped. If anything, the waves should be huge now, not gone without a trace. She sighed and stared at her hands. Was it possible to lose one's waterbending abilities? No, that couldn't be. Right? Katara really hoped so. But what else could explain the sudden lack of power? Should she try again?

She didn't get a chance to, and her eyes widened when she saw the glowing light coming from the depths of the ocean. Both her and Sokka instinctively took a few steps back, and watched closely as it grew larger in it's radius, and brighter as well. The water grew wavy once again, and Sokka's eyes shot to Katara. She shook her head to show it wasn't her. The water suddenly parted, and a large iceberg shot out from the middle of nowhere. The massive wave that followed caused Katara and Sokka's little island to lurch backwards quite a ways. They both fell to their stomachs again, and Sokka grabbed his sister's arm sleeve, in fear of her sliding off with the momentum. It was a lucky thing he did too, for she would have slid right into the water if he hadn't been holding onto her tightly. His other hand was curled around the edge of the ice, holding them both onto it. She grabbed his arm when she got the chance, and dragged herself forward so that she cold hold onto the edge of the ice as well.

Everything was still now. It was as if nothing had happened. The waters were settling, and the massive iceberg was not far away. There were now several other pieces of floating ice nearby. Katara and Sokka's eyes traveled upwards, and she was the first one to spot the boy inside of it. Her eyes widened, and she jumped up, leaping across the ice until she stood at the bank of the iceberg. It was more like an island really... It was flat enough to stand on, until it jutted upwards several feet in. Sokka was close behind.

"We have to help him," she shouted. She grabbed his knife, and climbed to where he sat, his eyes closed. His legs were folded, and his expression looked peaceful. As hard as she could, she jabbed at the hard ice, but to her dismay, barely made a dent. She repeated this action, until the boy's eyes snapped open suddenly without any warning at all. She let go in shock, and slid down the gradual slope and sat on her knees and hands whole looking upwards again. Sokka watched with equal awe and fascination.

The ice began to crack, and it glowed with the same light that it had before. Ice burst everywhere, and Katara covered her head quickly. Sokka dropped to his knees and did the same. When everything was still once more, they peeked out from under their arms and saw a boy sitting their, his eyes glowing an eerie white color, just like the water had done. Katara furrowed her brow, but stood up and rushed up to him.

"Katara," Sokka shouted out in warning. The sudden noise seemed to 'wake' the boy however, for he jerked slightly and his eyes lost their eerie glow. He now looked dazed and confused, and stood up, scratching at the back of his head. Katara watched him until she reached out a hand slowly. Now he noticed her, and he looked her over before a goofy grin bestowed his face.

"I'm Aang," he said, catching the two siblings completely off guard. Sokka's jaw dropped, and Katara blinked. The boy looked around him, wondering if he'd done something wrong.

"I'm...Katara," she finally said. She offered a smile, and then added curiously. "How long have you been trapped in there?"

"I dunno, a few days maybe?" He stared at Katara for a moment longer, but looked away quickly. She was pretty... "But I wasn't really trapped, it saved me and Appa. I don't really know how I did it though." A look came upon his face as if he'd suddenly remembered something. "Appa!"

He jumped up in the air, doing a back flip over the top of the iceberg. Katara watched in amazement, and took a moment before scrambled after him. Appa? He was a strange boy so far. He'd made an iceberg? Of this size? He must have been a waterbender then. But from where, the north pole? She'd never seen him before...or his style of clothing. But the arrow on his head and hands...they weren't symbols of the water tribe...

She finally caught sight of him again, and saw him petting a rather large...large what? What _was_ that thing? She guessed the look of confusion, and perhaps fright was obvious, for Aang suddenly spoke again.

"This is Appa," he said knowingly. The massive, white, furred beast also had a similar marking on his one, that of a blue arrow. When the boy suddenly jumped again and maneuvered his body so that he landed on top of Appa, Katara got it.

"Of course! You're an airbender," she said excitedly.

Aang grinned and patted Appa on the head. "Yup!"

Sokka had caught up with them now, and pointed accusingly at Appa. "What...is _that_?"

He was ignored however, when Katara made an odd face. "But...I thought the airbenders were all gone."

Aang looked up then curiously. "Gone? All of them? Nah."

"No one has seen or heard from an airbender in over 100 years."

"Well that doesn't make sense," Aang replied. "I was just with them all, in the Southern Air Temple."

Katara furrowed her brow yet again. That didn't sound right. Something was going on here. Either he was lying, which for some reason she highly doubted, the airbenders had gone into a state total seclusion, or this boy had been in that ice longer than he'd though. She figured now wasn't the time though, and smiled when the large Appa gave a rumbling grunt.

"He's hungry," Aang notified them.

Katara found herself giggling slightly. "Can I pet him?" She didn't know why, but she really wanted to pet this...Appa.

"Sure!" Aang seemed excited that she wanted to do so. That same goofy grin was plastered on his face again.

Katara approached him, and slid one glove off of her hand, while Sokka kept his distance from Appa. His fur was very thick, and she patted him lightly. His whole body vibrated when he gave a low satisfied grumble.

"He likes you," Aang told her. He watched her closely for a moment before turning his attention back to the massive furry animal that demanded it.

She laughed and petted him some more, not quite so hesitant this time. So far she liked this Appa fellow.

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_**Author's Notes:** Kind of a weird ending I know, but...that's okay, hm? The chapter is sort of similar to the first episode, too similar, but I can't go back and redo everything now. That's just how it turned out. Next chapters will hopefully be different!_

_Like I said, feedback is greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance guys!_

_-KENshinJI_


	2. Book One ::: Chapter Two

_**Author's Notes: **Thanks for the reviews guys,and the fav! It means a lot to me!__I was actually really bored tonight, and I couldn't sleep because I don't feel too well at all,so I wrote another chapter for you all. Enjoy!

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Sokka wouldn't go near the large beast. He eyed it warily, and it took Katara to actually climb on top of him, with the help of Aang for her brother to finally step into action. He stepped forward, chest puffed out and approached Appa. The white furry mammal let out a jet of air however that was a sigh. Sokka jumped backwards, earning a laugh from Aang.

"He won't hurt you. He's a vegetarian," he added helpfully.

"Thanks, I'm glad he won't _eat_ me. Just stomp on me or something," he muttered to the boy that was perched on Appa's head. Sokka grimaced, and then caught sight of Katara, remembering she had gone up as well. "Katara, get down from there!" He stared at her from the ground, but she didn't move. "Did you hear me?"

"I heard you Sokka," she answered calmly. "But I don't want to come down. Appa's nice."

"And you would know how?" He shot back. He put his hands on his hips, and Katara burst out laughing.

"Because Aang told me," she said between laughs. "And I think he would know."

Sokka turned to look at this, Aang. He could only make one assumption; he was bald. He could use this later against him perhaps, that is, if they couldn't get rid of him. Something told him to be careful about finding boys in icebergs. "Because Aang told me." He made his voice high and feminine, since he was mocking her and all.

She rolled her eyes and turned back to Aang, a smile on her face. "What are you doing in the south pole?"

He looked upwards and scratched the back of his head in thought. Again, he seemed to suddenly remember something and he grinned again. "I wanted to go penguin sledding." At the confused look on her face, he eyed her as if she was crazy. "You can't tell me you haven't been penguin sledding."

She blinked and seemed to snap out of her thoughts. "Of course I've been penguin sledding, I just haven't done it in a long time!" She shook her head at him. Penguin sledding? And him being an airbender? Why would he even think of going to the south pole?

"Do you wanna go with me then?"

"Sled on penguins?" She laughed and shook her head. "I don't think so, I think I'm a little big."

"Nah, those guys are tough," he remarked thoughtfully. He seemed to think again, as if there was something he was forgetting. Well, being frozen could do that to you she supposed. Meanwhile, behind them, Sokka was scooting closer to them and Appa. "Oh, this is Appa," he said to Sokka, answering his previous question. "He won't stomp on you either."

Katara decided to probe his memory a little bit. Afterall, she couldn't deny the fact that she was very curious as to what he wanted to do, beside penguin sled. "So you came all the way down here with Appa, just to penguin sled?"

Now he seemed to realize what it was, and he snapped in fingers to show he'd gotten it. His face fell however, and he glanced shyly up at Katara before dropping his gaze and patting Appa on the head again. "Oh-it's nothing, really." He turned his head downwards to look at Sokka, who had finally reached Appa and was extending a gloved hand towards him. He prodded him several times, and Aang's face showed amusement. Glad to find something off Katara's subject, he half ran, half glided over to Sokka and jumped back on Appa's head. "Well, I'm getting off of this iceberg," he said happily. "Climb on-er...what's his name again," he whispered out of the side of his mouth.

"Sokka," she said almost in an embarrassed tone. "That idiot down there, would be Sokka."

"That's no way to treat your brother after he saved your life," came his reply from the ground.

"Get on Sokka, or if you want to stay, I understand that as well."

"Me? Get on _that_ thing? You've _got _to be kidding me." He held a hand out in front of him and turned his head away to show that he was not getting on Appa. "There's no way I'm riding some giant bison. Can he even swim? He'll probably sink."

"He can swim," Aang replied, "but he prefers to fly." Katara's eyes widened slightly. Appa could fly? Well, she supposed that made sense, since he was a creature of the airbending people. "I got here, didn't I? It's fine, just get on." His tone was the least bit impatient, and Katara could tell that was a trait he would always exhibit. It wasn't a one time thing.

"Nu-uh," Sokka continued. "You must think I'm insane."

"Yes, we do Sokka," Katara butt in. "You can either get on now, or we're leaving and you can swim home." She folded her arms and glared down at him. He was prepared to call her bluff, and sit down cross-legged in the snow to make them wait, but her saw her tap Aang on the shoulder, as if signaling him to go when Sokka didn't move quick enough.

"Okay, okay!" He squared his shoulders and looked for a way to climb up. "How exactly, am I supposed to get up there?"

"Use his tail," Aang offered.

Sokka walked around to his backside, and used his large tail as a ramp, and rope. "Sorry to make you wait," he muttered to himself. "I don't have freaky powers like you two." At the word 'powers' he held his fingers out in front of them and moved them up and down quickly. However, it almost caused him to lose his balance, and he went up the rest of the way clinging to Appa's thick tail. "So, let's see this thing fly," he said while sitting down in his gigantic saddle across from Katara. It looked more like a cup anyway, he thought while staring at Aang who sat at the front.

"Yip! Yip!" He twisted his reigns as he did so, but the large beast didn't move. He tried one more time before sitting back. "He must be tired," he explained. For a second, it didn't look like Aang was going to try anything more, but let Appa rest.

"Yeah...magical," Sokka replied, but shut his mouth when Katara glared at him.

"Try again, Aang?" She wanted to get home, in fear of worrying their tribe. It was already growing dark. Proving Sokka wrong also held it's pleasures. He never admitted when he was wrong, and it took a lot to convince him of it. However, if Appa would fly, there would be no way he could deny it. At least, no way Katara could think if. Sokka was the master of excuses.

He turned around again, facing forward and grabbed a hold of the leather straps once more. He repeated his call that hadn't worked last time. "Appa, Yip! Yip!" Appa grumbled in response, but finally lurched forward, surprising Sokka, and Katara as well. "Here we go," he said in a pleased manner. "He's alright now." He smiled back at Katara, and she returned it, hoping he was right.

He walked forward as if he were going to jump into the water. Katara and Sokka braced themselves for the impact of the water, but never felt it. Instead, when they looked down, they were in the air, the ground growing further and further away. Sokka did not look pleased that he had been proved wrong, but Katara was thrilled. They were flying! They were actually flying! They'd be back at the tribe in no time, since they didn't have to navigate their way through the waters. It would have even more difficult, without a boat. Had they not found Aang and Appa, she and her brother would be stuck on their little island, and she'd be listening to Sokka's sarcastic remarks. She directed Aang back to their village, and they landed a little ways off from the huts, so as not to surprise them all at once. Katara and Sokka climbed down his tail again, while Aang merely jumped and met them on the ground.

"What are you going to do with Appa," Katara asked. Surely, something as large as him would be noticed, but could he stay alone? "He might really surprise our people," she said with a slight laugh. She glanced over at Sokka, who was still sour at being proved wrong. Aang, however didn't understand this, and had the notion in his head that he'd done something wrong.

"Appa can stay here by himself for a little while. He's a good boy, and now he can rest." He kept glancing back at Sokka, a look of confusion on his face, which Katara caught. "Did I-"

She cut him off though, and shook her head. "No, he just gets like this when he's wrong and other people are right." She walked over towards him and pretend shoved him forward, in the direction of the tribe. "Come on now, it's getting dark." She waited for Aang, who didn't seem to be coming.

"Oh, am I coming?"

Katara laughed. "Of course you are, why else would Appa be staying alone now? Come on Aang, you saved our lives, and we at least owe you some food and a warm place to stay for the night!" Sokka actually seemed to agree.

"Yeah man, seriously? We'd still be stuck out there if it weren't for you. But of course, we did discover your block of ice..." He said it more as a joke, but it was true. It probably wouldn't have emerged if Katara hadn't disturbed the water.

Aang smiled gratefully. "Well then I guess we saved each other." Katara walked back towards him and grabbed his upper arm, dragging him along with her as she strode towards the village, a smile on her face. "Stay Appa," he shouted back to his friend.

When Katara was sure he'd follow without her holding onto him, she let go, and the trio marched side by side back to their village. It was dark when they finally returned, and as they neared the huts, Aang fell further behind. Both siblings stopped and turned sideways to stare at him, since he'd now come to a complete halt.

"I can't help but feel I'm intruding," he said softly. His head was down and he seemed like he didn't want to go any further. "I can go sleep with Appa, and come back later."

Katara sighed and dropped her head. She trudged back towards him. His eyes were closed, and they snapped open when he felt her push him from behind. He was forced to jump forwards, and he supposed that was his answer. He smiled and sped up, to show that he'd follow now, and she could go in front of him again. She did so, and the three finally reached the center of the village. Katara held a finger to her mouth, and Sokka snuck off silently to his hut. She grabbed Aang's shoulder's lightly, and pushed aside the flap of an used hut. They had many of those now.

"You can sleep here tonight," she whispered. There's a little lamp down at the bottom somewhere. Mine is already lit, I'll bring you some fire in a minute." She then retreated out of the hut, back to her own. There she picked up her dimly lit lamp, and slunk back over to Aang. Once inside the hut safely, she raised her voice, but only slightly. "Here," she said while lighting it. The dancing flame reflected in his eyes, and she sighed.

"Thanks," he said once it was lit. He looked up at her though, now sitting cross-legged on a fur blanket. "Something the matter?"

She seemed hesitant to admit it, but finally sat down across from him, and spoke softly. "It's kind of stupid, but I can't ever look at fire the same after what happened to my people. You see, that's the reason my father, and the rest of the tribe are gone. We also lost many people that day, including my mother." She pointed to her necklace, and rubbed it for comfort like she always did. "This is all I have left of her."

He didn't reply for a moment, trying to figure it out. Nothing came to mind however, and he reluctantly prodded further. "What happened?"

Her eyes snapped back at him, anger almost rising in them, but she kept herself calm. He couldn't have known what had happened in her tribe..."The Fire Nation attacked us, Aang. We were specifically targeted, and many people were killed, to teach us a lesson. Most of the children's parents are dead, and their family has to take care of them." She sounded upset, even though she tried to hide it from her voice.

Aang was genuinely confused. The Fire Nation? Attacked? When, and why didn't he know about this? His brow was furrowed, and he spoke softly to himself only. "What's happened?"

"War has happened," she answered for him. Her eyes suddenly filled with realization. "Aang," she breathed. He looked up at her, confusion etched plainly all over his face. "Didn't you know about the war?"

He shook his head no.

"Tell me Aang, exactly why you ended up in an iceberg under the ocean."

He shrugged his shoulders, and leaned forward slightly. "There was a huge storm. The waves were tall and loud, and I couldn't see, and Appa couldn't fly in it. We fell into the ocean." He left out the part again, where he didn't quite know how he made the iceberg that had saved his life. It had just sort of happened.. "And I said I think it was a few days ago."

"A few days ago, there was no storm. There wasn't been a major storm for as long as I can remember. Long, long ago, one like you described devastated our tribe, drowning many people, and ruining the entire village. Not hut was left standing. The only people that survived were the ones that were visiting our sister tribe in the north pole." She paused for a moment, to see if he was taking it all in. It looked like he was, so she continued. "When they returned, they found our previous village site swept entirely clean of huts, and bodies. We've lost touch with our sister tribe ever since then."

Aang nodded his head to show he understood, but didn't know where exactly she was going with this. "But, Katara, how is that possible then?"

"I think...you've been trapped in there for longer than you think."

"What, like...a year?"

"Try one hundred," she said softly. She didn't want to scare him, but finding out that one had been trapped underwater for 100 years could be quite surprising.

"That's not possible," he simply stated.

"Aang, think about it, please. You don't know of the war, which has been waging for about one hundred years. You say you were brought down in a huge storm, the kind that hasn't happened in one hundred years." She continued, seeming to drive the knife deeper. "Nobody as seen or heard from an airbender in _one hundred years_." She sounded almost desperate, as if it was of the utmost importance that he believed her.

"Wow," he breathed. "Maybe you're right...everything you said makes sense." She sighed, hoping she hadn't hurt his feelings or anything. She now realized that his previous question hadn't been out of rudeness, but that he truly hadn't known what had happened. "No Appa's either," he asked suddenly.

She shook her head sadly. "Everyone thought the airbenders had disappeared altogether, along with The Avatar." Aang seemed to be processing this all, and Katara laid a hand on his shoulder comfortingly. He looked up, meeting her gaze. "I'm sorry Aang...I'll leave now."

"You don't have to," he said, not wanting to make her feel unwanted in one of own tribe's huts. "I don't mind...in fact I'm glad you told me, otherwise I wouldn't have known anything that was going on."

She stood though, and smiled. "Don't worry, I'm just leaving so you can get some rest, and me too. I'm pretty tired." She smiled at him, and made her way to the door. She was halfway outside when she heard his voice again.

"Thanks Katara, for everything."

"You're welcome Aang," she answered him softly. She returned to her hut now, and dimmed her light as low as it could go without extinguishing it completely. She changed quickly, and then wrapped herself in her warm blankets. Tomorrow, maybe they'd learn more about Aang. She was rather curious about him. He was the last thing she saw and thought of before falling asleep.

* * *

_**Author's Notes: **Well? I know, I know...again, too similar, but I really liked how the series started out. I promise though, once I really get into this, they won't be similar. As always, your comments are greatly appreciated, and they make me happy._

_-KENshinJI_


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